Better Believe It......Because They Actually Happen(ed) Collection 45
2,775 People in Johor Have Fallen Sick & 111 Schools Were Shut Down, Here’s What’s Happening


Source: Yahoo News Singapore & Channel NewsAsia


By Tara Thiagarajan


As of Thursday (14th March), 2,775 people have fallen ill after an illegal chemical dumping took place along the Kim Kim River in Pasir Gudang, Johor.

Many of those affected are children and while investigations are currently underway, those in Pasir Gudang are worried about this situation possibly escalating even further.



If you haven’t been keeping up with this alarming news, here’s a timeline of what has been happening in Pasir Gudang over the past few days and what the authorities have been doing;

7th March

35 people, mostly school students, were rushed to the hospital after suffering poisoning symptoms. A student reportedly fainted while five others began vomiting, according to Channel NewsAsia. They reportedly inhaled the poisonous gas from chemical waste that was illegally dumped into a river in Pasir Gudang. The school was then ordered to shut down to aid with investigations.

Source: Free Malaysia Today


Meanwhile, 21 of them were warded at the Sultan Ismail Hospital, while five of them were treated at the emergency department and the rest were given outpatient treatment. Those rushed to the hospital were aged between 7 and 40 years old and were from Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Pasir Putih and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Pasir Putih. Eight of those hospitalised were in critical condition.

Also, there were reports of other people experiencing similar symptoms, but they were not as severe as those hospitalised.

Full story at World of Buzz (March 2019)



Student who jumped into shark tank at South Bay aquarium apologizes




By Salvador Rivera And FOX 5 Digital Team


CHULA VISTA, Calif. – A Montgomery High School student who was dared to jump into a shark exhibit during a field trip says he regrets what he did and looks forward to making it up to the Living Coast Discovery Center.

It happened Tuesday at the aquarium in Chula Vista. The junior at the school, who asked not to be named, said he did it as a dare in exchange for cash and a designer belt.

The teenager told FOX 5 he wants to express his regret for what he did.

"It was a dare and it was a bet," the teenager said. "I regret it, I didn't think of the consequences that were going to happen and I realize it was very dangerous now that I did it."

Sweetwater Union High School District officials called the incident "a regrettable and unfortunate incident" and said that supervisors were on the trip but not at the exhibit when the incident took place. Administrators at Montgomery High did not respond to FOX 5's requests for comment.

The center issued a statement which read in part, "we are disappointed and saddened by this unfortunate incident but are thankful that no animals or guests were injured."

Full story at Fox 5 (March 2019)



Double whammy for graduates




By Yimie Yong And Clarissa Chung


PETALING JAYA: Degree holders are facing a double whammy as they stare at shrinking starting salaries coupled with a declining demand for high-skilled jobs.

Bank Negara, in its Annual Report 2018, revealed that real monthly salaries for fresh graduates holding a diploma or degree have dipped since 2010.

With the amounts adjusted for inflation, the starting pay for graduates with a basic degree was RM1,993 in 2010 whereas the amount dropped by RM10 to RM1,983 in 2018.

Those with a Master’s degree saw an even greater decline in their starting pay.

Their real minimum salary recorded was RM2,923 in 2010 while this figure dropped to RM2,707 in 2018.

The report, however, noted that the minimum wage has supported increases in the salaries of lower-skilled workers in recent years.

It showed that the real starting salaries of PMR and SPM-educated employees have risen by 4.6% and 2.3% respectively.

Such data is a cause for concern among young graduates.

The cost of education keeps rising but the starting salaries of those with a diploma or tertiary qualification have not kept pace.

Even as the starting salaries of degree holders are diminishing in real amount, the study found that the rate of people being hired in high-skilled jobs is also declining.

Full story at The Star Online (March 2019)



University at Buffalo student dies 6 days after injury in potential hazing


The University at Buffalo campus (Photo: David Duprey, AP)


By Doug Stanglin


An 18-year-old University at Buffalo freshman who was involved in a possible hazing incident last week at a college fraternity died Wednesday, university officials said.

The student, Sebastian Serafin-Bazan, from Port Chester, New York, had been on life support since Friday evening.

"Our hearts go out to Sebastian’s family for the devastating heartbreak they are experiencing," UB president Satish Tripathi said in a statement announcing his death.

"As we grieve Sebastian’s passing today and well beyond, it is my hope that each of us pauses to remind ourselves that we can only uphold our humanity by treating each other with dignity, compassion and kindness."

The report of a possible hazing-related incident last Thursday had prompted Tribathi to suspend all Greek life activities at the university in western New York.

The purported incident occurred at the Sigma Pi house, according to WKBW-TV in Buffalo.

The nature of the alleged hazing was not immediately clear. Police officials told the Buffalo News that Serafin-Bazan was performing exercises from Thursday night into Friday morning when he began to experience physical distress.

The Buffalo Police Department said at the time that it was investigating the matter and that a student had been rushed to the hospital with a "serious medical condition" believed to be the result of "potential hazing."

Full story at USA Today (April 2019)

Bangladesh student burned to death for reporting sexual abuse


The 19-year-old was killed after she accused a teacher of harassing her, sparking protests in the South Asian nation.

Bangladeshi women hold banners and photographs of schoolgirl Nusrat Jahan Rafi at a protest in Dhaka [AFP]


A schoolgirl was burned to death in Bangladesh on the orders of her headteacher after she reported him for sexually harassing her, police said on Friday.

The death of 19-year-old Nusrat Jahan Rafi last week sparked protests across the south Asian nation, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina promising to prosecute all those involved.

Rafi was lured to the rooftop of the religious school she attended where her attackers asked her to withdraw the sexual harassment complaint she had filed with police.

When she refused, she was doused in kerosene and set on fire. On April 10, she died from the burns, which covered 80 percent of her body.

Police said on Friday that one of the 17 people arrested in connection with her death had accused the school's principal of ordering the attack.

The principal "told them to put pressure on Rafi to withdraw the case or kill her if she refused", senior police superintendent Mohammad Iqbal, who is leading the investigation, told AFP.

Full story at Al Jazeera (April 2019)



Petition calls for removal of 2nd-grade teacher after 'absolutely pathetic' comment on student's work goes viral


Feedback from a second-grade teacher on a student's math assignment has gone viral, and now a petition is calling for her termination. (Photo: Facebook)


By Hope Schreiber


A petition calling for the termination of a second-grade teacher at a Pennsylvania public school has garnered more than 7,000 signatures after a social media post regarding her feedback to a student went viral.

Chris Piland took to Facebook to voice his displeasure with his son's second-grade teacher at Valley View Elementary School — identified as Alyssa Rupp Bohenek by the Scranton Times-Tribune — after she wrote a remark on a math assignment.

Written in red ink above the assignment, which features 50 subtraction problems, the teacher allegedly wrote of the 7-year-old’s work: "Absolutely pathetic. He answered 13 in 3 min! Sad."

"I am beyond frustrated that someone would write this on a childs work," Piland shared.



According to the Times-Tribune, school superintendent Rose Minniti, was made aware of the remarks written on the assignment on Tuesday. After a meeting between the Valley View School District and the teacher, an investigation has been initiated.

“It’s a personnel issue and the results of that are not going to be dictated by social media,” Minniti told the news outlet. “It’s going to be dictated by the facts and evidence.”

Still, many online are calling for the teacher to be fired.

Full story at Yahoo Lifestyle (April 2019)